The Charm
by sbartist357
Summary: Private finds an adorable charm during a mission. What's a sweet, naive little penguin to do? Keep it, of course! It's not like it's cursed or something, right? . . . Right?
1. Another Day, Another Mission

**Welcome, reader! I'm sbartist357 and I'm back with an all-new Penguins of Madagascar story! (cue the boisterous applause) :D Alright, now that I've introduced myself (kind of), please enjoy this first chapter! :D**

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"Okay, boys, here's the plan: We sneak in, grab the stuff Kowalski needs for his latest invention, and leave." Skipper said. He and his team were standing in an air shaft in the ceiling of a top-secret facility somewhere in Manhattan. The others nodded in reply. Skipper kicked open the grate below him and they dropped down to the floor.

The penguins were now in a long hallway outside of a laboratory; the items they needed were inside. They waddled over to a keypad next to the double doors. Kowalski squinted his eyes as he studied it.

"Hmm. . . This doesn't look too complicated. Rico, give me a boost." The mohawked penguin stood against the wall and cupped his flippers in front of him. Kowalski was then lifted above Rico's head so he could start unlocking the door.

"Okay, let's see. . ." The lieutenant entered 1-2-3-4 on the keypad. It flashed red and beeped two times, indicating that what he entered was incorrect. He continued trying different combinations.

Meanwhile, Private wandered a few feet away from the others and stopped in front of the double doors. Out of curiosity, he pushed on them. They swung open and the young penguin fell flat on his face. He quickly recovered and ran inside as the doors shut again; Skipper and Rico were too busy watching Kowalski to notice.

Several minutes passed. The lieutenant had given up on pressing random buttons and decided on using a different approach. He pressed 0-0-0-1 on the panel. When that failed, he tried 0-0-0-2. By this time, Skipper was growing impatient and Rico's flippers were starting to feel numb from holding Kowalski up. Finally, Skipper couldn't take it anymore.

"Come on, Kowalski! We don't have all day!" He yelled, throwing his flippers in the air. The tall penguin stopped and looked down at him.

"Sorry, Skipper! I'm trying my best!" Just then, Private popped his head out of the laboratory and looked at them.

"Guys, the door's already open. Are you coming?" Skipper face-flippered.

"Private, next time, it might help if you bothered telling us sooner."

"Sorry, Skippah." Kowalski glared at the keypad and placed his flippers on his hips.

"You mean this thing isn't even a lock? What is it, then?" He suddenly noticed something he hadn't before: On the LED screen was a small, O-shaped symbol; the panel was a thermostat. Kowalski repeatedly slapped his forehead.

"Ugh! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Skipper rolled his eyes.

"You can finish slapping yourself later, Kowalski. Let's just go in and get what we came here for." He walked over to the doors and followed Private into the lab.

Rico's flippers completely went numb and he tossed Kowalski off him. The tall penguin landed flat on his back a couple of feet away. Rico rubbed the feeling back into his flippers and entered the room, not bothering to help his teammate get up. Kowalski peeled himself off the floor and entered the laboratory as well. Skipper, Rico, and Private were waiting for him.

"So, what exactly are we looking for, Kowalski?" Skipper asked.

"I need some Macguffium-239, copper wire, and bromine. Bromine is a dark red liquid; it should be in a test tube." The team split up and began searching. The first two items didn't take long to locate, as they were sitting on a countertop in plain sight; the other one wasn't so easy to find.

As the other penguins continued searching the countertops, Private tried searching near the floor; after all, sometimes the item is in the last place one would think to look. The young penguin started opening and rummaging through various drawers. Once he checked all the drawers in one cabinet, he went to search somewhere else.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. He waddled over to the corner of the room to investigate. In a thin nook, between the wall and another cabinet, was a small metal charm, like the ones typically seen on charm bracelets. It was about the size of a nickel and shaped like a unicorn, with a sparkly sapphire crystal for its eye.

"Hmm. . . I wonder what this is doing here?" Private reached into the small gap and pulled it out. It felt cool in his flipper. As he studied it, he heard Kowalski's voice.

"Okay, I found it!" The lieutenant was standing on top of a table on the far side of the room, holding a test tube filled with bromine. Skipper smiled.

"Excelante. Come on, men, let's head back to HQ." He, Kowalski, and Rico jumped down to the floor and headed to the exit.

Private looked back down at the charm he was holding. Should he take it? It didn't appear to belong to anyone. Besides, he felt there was something special about it. Skipper's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Private, come on! The zoo will be opening soon!" The young penguin looked up.

"I'll be right there!" He quickly covered the charm with his flipper and rushed over to join them. They stepped out of the lab and went over to the air vent where they entered from. Rico hacked up their grappling hook, shot it into the air vent, and the four penguins climbed up.

"As soon as we get back, I'm going straight to my lab to finish my invention!" Kowalski said excitedly as he and the others crawled through the maze of tunnels. Behind him, Skipper rolled his eyes.

"It better be worth all the trouble we went through for it; I don't want to go back to our HQ just for you to blow it up."

"Don't worry, Skipper, I promise this one won't explode," The scientist replied. "I triple-checked my calculations."

"Oh, well, in that case, I guess the chance of it exploding is only fifty percent."

"Ha-ha, very funny."

Finally, the penguins reached another grate, this one leading to the garage of the building. Rico, who was in the front, pushed it open and dropped down first. The others followed him to their car and climbed in. Within seconds, they were on their way back to the zoo.

The ride was quiet, except for the occasional sounds of early morning traffic. Private snuck a peek at the charm he found. It was very pretty, but a bit dusty from sitting in that nook back at the laboratory; he decided he would clean it once they got back home. Private was happy that he found it. He smiled, looked back up at the road, and covered the charm again, not noticing that the crystal had flashed a deep red.

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 **Well, there you have it, folks: It's cursed (although, technically, I did imply that in the summary, but this just proved it). ;) Like Skipper says, "Glowing red eyes. . . That's almost never good." (from "Dr. Blowhole's Revenge"). XD As for references, Kowalski entering 0-0-0-1 and 0-0-0-2 into the keypad was based on what he did in "High Moltage" (with far fewer zeros) and Macguffium-239 was shown in the episode "It's About Time". Anyway, what sort of problems will Private's seemingly-innocent charm** **unleash upon Team Penguin? :O We shall find out in the next chapter!**


	2. A Bad Start

**Hello again! The next chapter is here! Let's see what sort of strange events start happening, shall we? ;)**

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The penguins made it back with about twenty minutes to spare. After Rico parked the car in the garage, they entered the HQ.

"Ah, it's good to be back." Skipper said. "I sure am hungry for some fish." Rico smiled.

"FISH!" Kowalski started heading over to his lab.

"Well, I'm going to finish my invention. It'll probably be done within an hour." He closed the side door behind him. Skipper and Rico did their normal hobbies to pass the time.

Private sat in the far corner of the room, his back turned to them. He looked at the charm, blew most of the dust off, and rubbed the charm on his tummy. It was now nice and shiny, and Private could see his reflection in it.

For a quick second, Private thought he saw the crystal turn red. He cocked an eyebrow, then shook his head; it must've just been a trick of the light. Private went over to his bunk and slipped the charm under his pillow for safekeeping. He looked at the clock and saw that it was now five minutes until the zoo opened.

"Skippah, Alice will be giving us our breakfast any minute."

"Alright, let's head topside." Skipper gestured for the others to go ahead. Private and Rico climbed up the ladder while Skipper fetched Kowalski from the lab. They joined the others outside.

The penguins stood in a straight line on their fake ice floe, waiting for Alice to arrive. They saw her off in the distance, tossing food to the other animals. Finally, she started heading toward their habitat with a bucket of fish in her hand. As she got closer, Private noticed something.

"Skippah, her shoes are untied." He whispered. The leader looked at them.

"Hmm. . . Kowalski, what are the odds that she'll trip?" The tall penguin did the math in his head.

"I'd say the chances are-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Alice stepped on her shoelace. She fell, losing her grip on the bucket in the process. It flew over the perimeter fence and landed upside down over Kowalski's head, the fish it had been holding scattering all over the platform.

". . . Certain." Kowalski finished, his voice echoing slightly. The other penguins stared at him as Alice looked at her shoelaces.

"What? I just tied my shoelaces! Ugh!" She sighed and retied them. When she got up, she noticed the bucket over Kowalski's head and the fish lying everywhere. She grabbed the wooden plank she used to get onto their platform and approached him.

"Whoops." Alice roughly yanked the pail upward, the handle of it getting caught on Kowalski's beak before slipping off. The zookeeper stepped back onto the pavement, removed the board, and left. Kowalski rubbed his beak.

"Are you okay, Kowalski?" Private asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He replied. "That was strange; I don't recall Alice ever tripping over her shoelace before."

"Me neither," Skipper added. "Oh, well. Let's just collect our breakfast and head back inside." They grabbed all the fish that were strewn about and slipped back into the HQ.

Kowalski took his share and went back to his lab to continue working. A short while later, he returned, holding up his finished invention, which was covered with a cloth.

"It's done!" He exclaimed. Skipper crossed his flippers.

"Alright, Kowalski. Let's see it." The taller penguin removed the sheet. The device was cube-shaped, with buttons on the side and a door on the front, like a safe.

"I present. . . The Candy-Creator 9000! It makes whatever candy you want!"

"What's with the 9000?" Skipper questioned.

"I thought it had a nice ring to it," Kowalski replied, shrugging.

"Ooh! Does it make butterscotch lollies?" Private asked happily.

"Yep."

"Buttons?" Rico grumbled, tingling with excitement.

"Yes, Rico. It makes candy buttons, too."

"YEAH! BUTTONS!" Rico cheered, smiling maniacally. Kowalski stared at him for a moment before continuing.

". . . Okay. Here, allow me to demonstrate." The lieutenant pushed a few buttons on the control panel, and The Candy-Creator 9000 hummed to life. Just as it looked like everything was going smoothly, the device began to shake and spark erratically. Kowalski frowned.

"Oh, boy." The gadget exploded, sending chunks of metal fragments flying everywhere. The force of the explosion caused the entire zoo to shake. Alice noticed the tremor while sitting at her desk.

"Huh, that was weird." She mumbled. She then continued doing anything but her job.

Back inside the HQ, Skipper and the others got up. As the smoke cleared, they surveyed the damage. Chunks of metal had embedded themselves into the concrete. One of the portholes was cracked, and water from their pool leaked in, creating a small puddle on the floor. Their table had fallen apart and the pieces were scattered around the floor by the TV, which was, miraculously, unharmed. Skipper glared at Kowalski, who was covered in soot and clutching the remains of his invention.

"Well, Kowalski, you did exactly what I didn't want you to do: YOU BLEW UP OUR HQ!"

"I'm sorry, Skipper! I don't know what went wrong! It should have functioned properly!" Kowalski was completely baffled.

"I've heard that before. . ." The leader muttered, rolling his eyes. His second-in-command glared at him.

"No, seriously, Skipper! I know for a fact that all of my calculations were correct this time!" He pulled out his notes and showed him. "Look!"

"Kowalski, you know I don't understand all that science stuff." The lieutenant stared at the ceiling and sighed, exasperated. He turned his clipboard back around and scribbled a bunch of drawings. When he finished, he showed Skipper again.

"I even put a backup system in the device to prevent it from exploding. It was a fool-proof! There was absolutely no reason for that to happen!"

"Fool-proof maybe, but not genius-proof. Kowalski, I don't want you inventing anything for a whole week, comprende?"

"B-B-But-"

"No buts, Kowalski. No inventing for a week. That's an order!" The tall penguin frowned and nodded.

"Yes, Skipper." He turned around and left the HQ.

During the conversation, Private couldn't help but feel bad for Kowalski. Sure, most of his inventions did explode whenever he first presented them to the team, but the way he insisted that it shouldn't have made Private feel like he was telling the truth. What could've caused it to explode?

The water was still seeping into the room. Skipper looked at the porthole and sighed.

"Rico, clean that up. Private, help me fix the rest of the place." He waddled over to the table while Rico hacked up a mop and some items to repair the window. Private joined the leader and began helping him restore the HQ.

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 **Wow, two incidents already. :[ In Kowalski's defense, yes, his invention would have worked if it wasn't for Private's little unicorn charm. (Kowalski: Oh, come on!) XD Speaking of which, the team has no idea he has it, and he's not going to tell them about it, either (I know. . . terrible). I didn't write it in the story, but Private feels that Skipper won't let him keep it if he asked (I mean, he did sneak his lunacorn doll into the HQ in "Hello, Dollface"). ;) So, will Private's charm cause more bad luck? You bet! This is only the beginning, people! XD**


	3. Snow Cone Chaos

**Welcome back! Thank you, taylormomsen8 for sending me my first review for this story! :) I'm glad you like it so far! Here's a virtual sushi roll for you (with non-expired mayonnaise, unlike the sushi in "Our Man in Grrfurjiclestan")! [o] Just a little heads-up: This chapter switches back and forth a bit (I hope that doesn't confuse anyone)! ^^;**

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Thirty minutes later, the HQ was back to normal. Skipper placed his flippers on his hips and smiled.

"Nice work, boys. We got this place back in ship-shape. Let's get some snow cones."

"A'right!" Rico cheered. Private suddenly thought of something.

"Skippah, what about Kowalski?"

"Oh, yeah. He can come, too." Private grinned and climbed up the ladder. The scientist was sitting at the edge of the platform, busy examining his notes. Private waddled over to him.

"Kowalski?" The tall penguin looked up.

"Oh. . . Hi, Private." He went back to staring at his clipboard.

"We're going to get some snow cones. Do you want to come?"

"Hmm. . . I don't know." Kowalski said, not looking up. Without warning, he slapped the clipboard in anger, causing Private to jump slightly.

"I just don't understand it!"

"Understand what?" Private asked, although he already knew the answer.

"My invention! I know Skipper doesn't believe me, but it shouldn't have blown up like it did. The worst possible scenario would've simply been nothing happening. I was certain of that." He sighed and glanced at Private. "You believe me, right?" The young penguin nodded.

"I believe you, Kowalski." He truly meant it. Kowalski smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Private returned his smile. "So, do you want to go for some snow cones?"

"Okay," He replied, standing up. "I should take a break, anyway." At that moment, Skipper and Rico joined them on the platform.

"Are you two ready to go?" Skipper asked.

Private and Kowalski nodded. After checking the area around their habitat, the penguins flipped over the fence and headed into the park. It didn't take long for them to find a snow cone stand. They hid behind some bushes about fifteen feet away.

"Rico, binoculars." The scarred penguin regurgitated the item and handed it to Skipper. He looked through them and came up with a plan.

"Okay, we'll wait for everyone to leave, and then we'll go over and grab us some tasty snow cones."

"What about the snow cone vendor, Skippah?"

"We'll give him five minutes to wander off; if he doesn't, we'll just knock him out." The team waited.

Finally, everyone, including the man running the cart, left. The penguins slid over to it and climbed onto the counter. There weren't any more snow cones sitting on the display racks, so Private reached over and lifted the hatch leading to the cart's storage compartment. Inside were tons of snow cones in every color of the rainbow, including rainbow snow cones. Skipper rubbed his flippers together.

"Okay, boys. Let's-" The penguins noticed the snow cone vendor coming back. "Abort!"

Skipper jumped off the cart and slid back over to the bushes, Kowalski and Rico following. Private started to join them, but he slipped and fell into the cart. The hatch door shut after him. A moment later, the man returned and started pushing the cart away, whistling casually. Back in their hiding place, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico watched the cart leave.

"That was close," The leader said. "I guess we'll get snow cones next time." Kowalski looked around.

"Uhh. . . Skipper?"

"What?"

"Private's not here." The leader confirmed Kowalski's claim and looked through the binoculars again. As he observed the snow cone cart, he noticed the hatch door jiggling slightly, like someone was trying to push it open from the inside.

"Sweet shiitake mushrooms! After that cart!" He tossed the binoculars back to Rico, who swallowed them, and the three penguins went in pursuit.

Inside the snow cone cart, Private gave up trying to open the door and sighed. It must have locked itself when it slammed shut. The young penguin couldn't see anything, considering it was pitch black, so he sat on the floor and waited for his teammates to rescue him.

The penguins continued following the cart until it came to a stop. Unfortunately, a bunch of park visitors crowded around the stand, so the penguins couldn't free Private just yet. The snow cone vendor opened the hatch to grab some snow cones from the storage compartment.

Private managed to dodge the person's hand just in time. He made his way over to a corner, far from the opening. The young penguin heard the crowd of people outside and knew he'd have to wait.

"Maybe getting snow cones today was a bad idea. . ." He said to himself. A short distance away, the others were growing impatient.

"This is taking too long," Skipper muttered. "Rico, we're going to need a distraction."

The crazy penguin nodded and hacked up some firecrackers. After lighting them with a match, he threw them toward the crowd. They landed behind the cart and started popping. The crowd screamed and fled the area, dropping their snow cones in the process. However, the vendor, to the penguins' astonishment, grabbed the cart and ran away with it. Skipper face-flippered.

"Since when does a snow cone vendor panic and run WITH the snow cone cart!?"

"I don't know, sir," Kowalski replied, just as confused.

"Ugh, after him!" The continued their chase.

Meanwhile, Private was starting to get cold. The inside of the cart was refrigerated so the snow cones wouldn't melt. Of course, his feathers acted as insulation, but that only worked for so long. The fact that he had eaten five snow cones didn't help the matter, either. He shivered and wrapped his flippers around himself.

The vendor finally stopped running to catch his breath. Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico hid behind a tree and waited for the man to leave. Eventually, the guy walked away to do whatever snow cone vendors do after fleeing in panic. Inside the storage compartment, Private closed his eyes as he felt a sneeze coming on.

"Ah-choo!" The force of his sneeze made him hit his back against the wall, causing the snow cone cart to lurch forward.

The penguins watched as the cart started to roll on its own. It was heading toward a steep hill, the bottom of which disappeared into a lake. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to stop it, the penguins held their breath. They sighed in relief as the cart slowly came to a halt just in time.

"Whew!" Kowalski said. "For a second, I thought that-" The snow cone cart suddenly inched forward and began plummeting down the hill.

"Aww, come on!" Rico grumbled, annoyed.

"Today seems to be one of those days. . ." Skipper muttered. They slid as fast as they could after the cart. By the time they reached the top of the hill, the snow cone cart had landed in the water and was starting to sink.

"Private!" Skipper yelled. The penguins used the steep slope to their advantage and reached the cart within seconds. They stood around the hatch and tried opening it, but the lock was stuck.

"Rico, cut the hatch open!" The mohawked penguin coughed up a blowtorch, cut a hole in the metal, and lifted the piece out. The penguins looked inside to see Private staring up at them.

"Oh, thank goodness you showed up!" The young penguin greeted them, smiling. "Want a snow cone?"

"Private, this cart was about to send you to a watery grave, and you're asking us if we want snow cones!?" Skipper asked incredulously.

Several minutes later, the four penguins were walking back to the zoo, enjoying snow cones.

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 **Well, at least it wasn't a total disaster. . . ;) The next chapter is one of my favorite parts of the story, so you don't want to miss it! There are more mishaps (and hilarity) to come! :D**


	4. Back in the HQ

**Hooray! The next chapter is here! :) Like I mentioned in the previous author's note, this is one of my favorite parts of the story (it's also one of the longest at almost 2,000 words). So, without further ado, enjoy! :D**

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"Okay, I guess our snow cone mission was a success, although it didn't go as smoothly as planned." Skipper said as the team walked toward their habitat.

"What happened, Private?" Kowalski inquired.

"Well, when I was trying to get off the cart, I slipped. After I fell inside, the hatch slammed shut." The tall penguin thought back to the time when they were on the cart.

"Hmm. . . The counter was completely dry. What could have caused you to slip?" Private only shrugged.

The penguins threw away their empty snow cone cups and flipped onto their concrete ice floe. They opened the fish hatch and climbed down the ladder. Kowalski, out of habit, started heading toward his lab. Skipper placed his flippers on his hips.

"Where do you think you're going, Kowalski?" The lieutenant turned around and stared at him, confused. Then he remembered Skipper's order.

"Oh, right." Kowalski smiled, embarrassed. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed a juice box from their refrigerator and sat down at the table. Skipper and Rico joined him.

Meanwhile, Private waddled over to the TV and turned it on; it was almost time for "The Lunacorns". He started flipping through the channels and came across the news, which happened to be giving the weather report. He turned the volume up.

". . . And it looks like New York is going to be having some hot weather tomorrow. Manhattan is expected to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit-" Kowalski suddenly did a spit-take with his juice – right in Rico's face. The mohawked penguin glared at him and grumbled angrily.

"Oops." Kowalski put the juice box down and pushed it away. The weather report continued.

". . . With 100 percent humidity." If he hadn't put the juice down, Kowalski would've done another spit-take for sure.

"That's unprecedented in New York, let alone Manhattan!" He said, shocked. "What about the outlying boroughs?"

"The outlying boroughs will be a pleasant 75 degrees with crystal-clear skies." The meteorologist replied. The penguins stared at the TV for a second.

"Wow, that's hot!" Private exclaimed after muting the volume. Kowalski nodded.

"Yeah! I must solve this meteorological conundrum!" He jumped up from the table and started rushing toward his lab, but Skipper grabbed his flipper.

"Kowalski-"

"I know!" He replied, looking at him. "But aren't you at least curious as to why Manhattan is going to have a heat wave, yet the other boroughs aren't?" Skipper let go of him and crossed his flippers.

"I would be, but not in this case. Obviously, the weather report is wrong; somebody must've made a mistake." Kowalski considered this for a moment.

"Well, I guess that could be a possibility. . ."

"Good, then it's settled. The weather report was wrong and tomorrow will be just like the other boroughs: Nice and pleasant."

Kowalski sighed and sat down at the table again. Private unmuted the TV and flipped through the channels until he found "The Lunacorns". A huge grin blossomed on his face as the intro to his favorite TV show came on. Suddenly, the screen blanked out and an announcer spoke.

"Sorry, lunacorn fans! Due to technical difficulties, today's airing of 'The Lunacorns' is canceled." Private sat in front of the TV, upset.

"What?" He whimpered in disbelief. "They've never canceled 'The Lunacorns' before!" Skipper, of course, was thrilled.

"Well, that's nice; I needed a break from those hippie moon horses."

"Lunacorns!" Private corrected, still staring in dismay at the TV screen. Without warning, the television screen turned to static. Confused, the young penguin switched to another channel. That one was static as well. In fact, all of them were.

"Skippah, something's wrong with the telly." He said, turning to face the others.

"Kowalski, analysis."

"It could be a solar flare; that tends to interfere with satellites which, in turn, affects reception from time to time." Skipper smiled.

"See, Private? It's nothing." He waved the young penguin over. "Come on, let's play a game of cards." Private turned the TV off and sat down at the table. Rico hacked up their deck of playing cards and handed them to Skipper, who began shuffling them.

"Okay, this is Stomp the Wombat, Bangladeshi rules, ninth-degree punishment." Skipper looked up at the others to see them flinch slightly; they weren't very good at this game.

The leader smirked and dealt the cards out, then placed the rest in the middle of the table. Each penguin took a card and placed it on their forehead. Skipper studied his hand. It was his turn, so he took a card from the stack on the table and added it to his hand.

Private was next. He placed a queen on the table. Rico responded by placing a king on top. Kowalski smiled and added an ace to the pile. Skipper glanced at it and back at his hand. He needed a two, but he had already drawn from the deck on his last turn; the only possible move he could make was to match a card to one of his teammates' foreheads so they could face ninth-degree punishment. Rico had a five on his head, so Skipper grabbed a five from his hand and slapped it on the table.

"Ninth-degree punishment for Rico." He announced, still covering it with his flipper. However, when he revealed the card, it had magically changed to an eight. The others stared at it, puzzled.

"Umm. . . Actually, Skipper, it looks like it's ninth-degree punishment for you." Kowalski said.

The leader looked at the card in shock. It was a five! He could've sworn it was! But, since it wasn't, and nobody had an eight on their forehead, he had to take the punishment for an invalid move. Rico regurgitated a spinner and placed it on the table. Reluctantly, Skipper spun it and waited for the arrow to point out his fate. It finally stopped on a drawing of a fish.

"Ooh. . . FISH!" Rico grumbled. He regurgitated a fish, waddled over to Skipper, who was sitting across from him, and slapped him across the face with it. Hard. He then returned to his seat, swallowed the fish, and picked up his cards.

Skipper was furious. Not at Rico (after all, rules were rules), but that he himself had gotten the punishment. He was so certain the card matched Rico's! He decided that he would be more careful next time.

A few more rounds passed, with each of the other penguins getting their share of ninth-degree punishments. However, much to everyone's surprise, Skipper received the most of them; it wasn't like Skipper to lose at a game of Stomp the Wombat.

The game continued well past the zoo's closing time. It was almost lights-out, so the round they were currently playing would be the last one. Skipper still had a chance to win, though: All he had to do was get all the cards in his hand to be consecutive, regardless of suit. Kowalski placed a three down on the table and waited for Skipper to make a move.

The leader studied his hand: He had five cards, but needed a six to make them chronological. He grabbed a card from the deck and grinned as it turned out to be a six. He slapped his hand down on the table and stood up.

"Ha! Stomp the Wombat! I win!" The other penguins examined Skipper's cards: They were anything but consecutive.

"Skippah, that's not a winning hand," Private said, looking at him.

"What?" He gazed at his cards and frowned.

How could that be? He was sure he'd won. What was going on? He certainly wasn't going insane: If he was, he'd be the first to know, right? It took everything he had to restrain himself from doing a table flip. For one, the table had already been messed up earlier from Kowalski's invention exploding, and two, it was plain unsportsmanlike.

So, being the model penguin he was, Skipper flicked the arrow on the spinner to receive the penalty for yet another illegal move. This time, it landed on a lunacorn drawing. He groaned; just when he thought he would get a break from Private's favorite show.

The young penguin smiled as he grabbed a pair of headphones and a CD player that Rico had promptly coughed up and handed them to Skipper. The leader placed the headphones over his earholes and watched as Private placed a soundtrack from "The Lunacorns" into the CD player and pressed the play button. Fortunately, he only had to endure one song, since it was now past their normal lights-out time. When it ended, Skipper took the headphones off and handed the items back to Rico, who put them away in the recesses of his gut.

In the end, Private won the game, being as he received the fewest number of penalties and was also the closest to getting a winning hand.

"Alright, men. It's time to get some shut-eye." Skipper said. Kowalski and Rico went to their bunks, yawning. As Private waddled over to his bunk, he noticed Skipper scowling.

"Something wrong, Skippah?" He asked quietly, as to not disturb the others.

"Oh, it's nothing, young Private. I was just thinking about the game." The young penguin nodded thoughtfully.

"It's okay that you lost, Skippah. You can't win every time."

"I don't mean that. I should have won." Private was confused. When Skipper noticed his expression, he continued.

"When I was going to have Rico face punishment, I had a five in my hand."

"Then, why didn't you use it?"

"I did," He explained. "But when I placed it on the table, it turned into an eight."

"Maybe you were mistaken?" Private suggested. The leader shook his head.

"No, I'm sure it was a five. Then, just now, I only needed a six to win. That's exactly what I pulled out of the deck but, when I put my cards down, they had changed." Skipper looked off into space as he got lost in thought.

Private went through what Skipper had explained in his head. It reminded him of Kowalski's invention - how the scientist had been sure his calculations were correct, but the device still exploded. Now Skipper claimed he really did have a winning hand, but the cards changed. Then the weather report-

"Skippah?" He asked, bringing the leader back to the present.

"What?"

"Are you sure the weather report for tomorrow is wrong?"

"Of course, young Private. Even Kowalski said it was a possibility," He slipped into his bunk on the bottom. "Well, goodnight." The younger penguin climbed into the second bunk.

"Goodnight, Skippah." Private lay on his back, staring at the concrete above him.

When he was sure the others were sound asleep, he quietly reached under his pillow and pulled out the charm. He polished it again with his feathers and smiled at it. A minute later, he tucked it back under his pillow, turned onto his side, and fell asleep. This time, the crystal turned red permanently.

* * *

 **Uh-oh, that's not good. :[ Okay, references time! Kowalski doing a spit-take and hitting Rico was based on what he did in "Mr. Tux", and Stomp the Wombat, Bangladeshi rules, ninth-degree punishment was the card game they played in "Marble Jarhead" (I just made up the rules to it). :) So, is the weather report wrong like Skipper claims? Will it really be a nice, pleasant day for our favorite commando penguins? Hmm. . . :/**


	5. Localized Heatwave

**Hey, everybody! You have reached the halfway point of this story! :D No reviews this time around, so we'll just continue! :)**

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Skipper woke up the next morning feeling miserable. He wasn't sick, but he felt uncomfortably hot. He groaned and sat up in his bunk. The air felt humid and stuffy. He stood up, waddled toward the middle of the room, and turned to look at the others. Private was lying on his stomach, his flipper dangling over the side of the bunk. Above him, Rico was lying on his back, panting heavily with his tongue hanging out. Kowalski was nowhere to be seen.

"It's so hot." Private moaned.

"Uh-huh," Rico grunted. Just then, the side door opened and Kowalski stepped out, holding a wrench and looking just as miserable as the others. He noticed Skipper standing there.

"Hello, Skipper." He said, wiping his brow with his free flipper.

"Kowalski, what's going on?"

"Our air conditioning went out, so I went to check it."

"Okay, so what's wrong with it?"

"Nothing." Skipper looked at him, confused.

"Then why is it so hot in here?"

"It's not working." Skipper rubbed his face in annoyance.

"Kowalski, can you please explain how that's possible?"

"I can't, Skipper. I have no idea what's going on. The air conditioner should be working, but it's not; it's just like my invention."

"Maybe we'll feel better outside, Skippah." Private suggested, slipping out of his bunk and climbing up the ladder.

"Good idea, Private." He replied. The young penguin disappeared through the hatch door.

Seconds later, they heard Private yelp. They hurried topside, only to be assaulted with even more heat and their feet burning - the concrete was scalding hot. Rico coughed up some penguin-sized flipflops and the three penguins hastily slipped into them. With that taken care of, the penguins waddled over to the edge of the platform. Private was lying face-down at the bottom of the pool, only there wasn't a pool anymore: The water was gone.

"Private! Are you okay?" Skipper asked. Private flipped over, sounding like sizzling bacon as he did so. His white feathers had become slightly burnt, making them light gray. He winced as his backside started burning.

"Not really. The concrete is scorching my feathers!" He cried. Rico regurgitated a bucket of water and poured it on the young penguin. Private sighed as steam rose from the now-wet concrete around him.

"Ah, that's better." Rico tossed him a pair of flipflops and Private put them on. The crazy penguin coughed up a rope, tossed it down to him, and the young penguin climbed back up. Kowalski stared at the empty concrete pool.

"It appears that all of the water evaporated!" Skipper fanned his face with his flipper.

"Ugh, this heat is unbearable! It has to be at least 100 degrees out here!" Kowalski pulled a thermometer from out of nowhere and glanced at it.

"Actually, it's 110 degrees with 100 percent humidity, Skipper."

"You mean the weather report yesterday was right?"

"It appears so."

"CURSE YOU, WEATHERMAN!" He shouted, raising his clenched flippers dramatically (he would've dropped to his knees as well, but he remembered the fake ice floe was too hot). Kowalski looked around at the other habitats.

"Hmm. . . That's odd." He mumbled.

"What?"

"If it's so hot and humid, why isn't everyone else affected by it?"

The other penguins glanced around. Marlene was going down her slide, practicing her routine. She did a triple flip before diving into her pool, the splash soaring well above her habitat wall. Julien was jumping on his bouncy, happy as ever. Skipper tapped his beak.

"That is strange."

Kowalski suddenly had an idea. He jumped across the gap where their pool used to be, grabbed the metal bars surrounding their habitat, and stuck the thermometer through the fence. His eyes widened as he noticed the mercury drop to 75 degrees with twenty percent humidity. He brought the gauge back inside the boundary. The mercury rose again to 110 degrees with 100 percent humidity. He repeated the process two more times to confirm his findings, then looked back at the others.

"Skipper, the temperature is 75 degrees outside our habitat!" They were shocked.

"What is going on here!?"

"I have no idea; this goes against all the laws of science!" Kowalski jumped back over to the platform. Marlene, who had by this time finished practicing, was casually walking along the path. The penguins waved her over.

"Marlene!" Skipper called. The otter approached the perimeter fence.

"Hey, guys!" She noticed Private's singed feathers and the overall misery on their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Marlene, can you come over here for a minute?" Kowalski asked.

"Okay." She climbed over the fence and joined them. "Whoa! Why is it so hot over here? My feet are burning!" Rico retrieved a pair of flipflops for her and she gratefully put them on.

"We don't know, Marlene," Private explained. "When we woke up this morning, everything was hot and humid."

"Don't you guys have air conditioning?"

"We do, but it's not working for some reason," Kowalski responded.

"Oh, that's awful! Can't you fix it?"

"That's what baffles me: There's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't work." Marlene looked confused.

"That's weird," She wiped her forehead. "Whew! I'm sorry guys, I can't stand this heat. I have to get out of here." She turned and jumped back over the fence.

"Oh, Rico, do you want these back?" Marlene asked, pointing at the flipflops. He shook his head and waved his flipper dismissively.

"No, it's okay. Keep 'em." The otter smiled.

"Cool, thanks!" She went back to her own habitat. Kowalski put the thermometer away, took out his clipboard, and scribbled his findings on it.

"Well, Marlene noticed the difference, so it's not just us," He explained. "I wonder if it works both ways?"

"Private, go over the fence and see if you notice any change." Skipper ordered. Private saluted and flipped over the boundary. He smiled and turned around.

"Oh, it's lovely over here, Skippah!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Kowalski jotted the results of the test on his clipboard.

"That's a yes."

"Well, in that case, let's continue our investigation out there." Skipper joined Private outside their habitat and Kowalski and Rico followed suit. They smiled as the cool air surrounded them.

"That's more like it." Skipper sighed. "I wonder why that heatwave is only where our habitat is?"

"Me, too," Kowalski said.

"So, the weather report was wrong, then?" Private inquired.

"I guess so."

"I kind of wish it was right," Skipper said. "At least then everyone would be in the same boat; I feel like Mamma Nature has something against us."

"Too bad our pool evaporated," Private added. "Where can we go for a swim, now?"

"How about the beach?" Skipper suggested. "Kowalski, where's the nearest beach?" The lieutenant flipped to a new page and drew out a map. He turned it around to show the others.

"Orchard Beach in the Bronx. It's pretty quiet over there."

"Perfect. Let's go. We'll continue our investigation later." They went over to their garage and climbed into their car. The penguins were soon on their way to Orchard Beach.

* * *

 **Darn cursed heatwave caused by cursed charm! X[ Ugh, the penguins are just having one incident after another. :/ Let's hope they figure out what's causing it soon! By the way, Orchard Beach is an actual place (I've been there myself). Technically, the closest beach to them is at Coney Island (but we all know why they can't go there. . . *cough cough* Blowhole *cough cough*). ;) So, will their trip to the beach be totally normal? Keep reading to find out! :)**


	6. The Mishaps Continue

**I'm back! :D Okay, here's the next chapter! Nothing to report, so let's continue! :)**

* * *

Roughly an hour later, the penguins made it to Orchard Beach. They parked their car behind some bushes and climbed out. Orchard Beach was small; besides the typical sand and ocean, it didn't have much else. They waddled over to the middle of the sandbar and looked around; there wasn't a single person to be seen.

"Wow, Kowalski, when you said this beach was quiet, you really meant it." Skipper noted, placing his flippers on his hips.

"Yeah. Most people in the area go to Jones Beach in Long Island, instead; there are more attractions and activities over there. Here, the water tends to be on the boring and stagnant side."

"Oh, well. I'm sure it's not that bad; at least we don't have to worry about any humans. Come on, boys!" Skipper kicked off his flipflops and started heading toward the water. The others did the same. Rico stopped just before the water's edge, hacked up a donut-shaped pool float, and ran into the water with it.

"WOO-HOO!" He jumped on the float and drifted further off into the ocean.

The other penguins were enjoying the water as well. Private dove underwater and swam through some seaweed, which tickled his tummy. About twenty minutes later, he surfaced and waddled back onto the sand. Skipper was already on the beach and approached him.

"Private. . ." The leader pointed at the young penguin's head and smiled. Private looked up - there was a piece of seaweed stuck on him.

"Oh!" He plucked it off, tossed it aside, and shook himself off. At that moment, Kowalski came out of the water and joined them.

"Ah, that was refreshing!" He said, stretching his flippers. Rico, who was still relaxing on his pool float, rode an ocean wave to the shore. He got up and waddled over to the group, bringing the float with him.

"Well, that was a nice little treat, but I think it's time we head home; we still need to figure out the cause of that heatwave." Skipper said.

"Aww. . ." Rico mumbled. He deflated the pool float, swallowed it, and the four penguins retrieved their flipflops. As they started walking back to the car, they noticed some seagulls flying in the air. Kowalski smiled and pointed at them.

"Hey, that reminds me of a joke," He said. "If seagulls fly over the sea, what flies over the bay?" Private decided to respond.

"I don't know. What?"

"Bagels." Kowalski started laughing. Rico saw the joke coming but thought it was so lame that he didn't bother to hack up a drum set to emphasize the punchline.

As Kowalski continued laughing, a random bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and struck him. The other penguins shielded their eyes from the bright light. When it disappeared, they looked at Kowalski - he was completely blackened. The tall penguin blinked, coughed out a puff of smoke, and stared at the sky.

"There aren't even any cumulonimbus clouds in the sky! I wonder what caused that to happen?" Kowalski proceeded to pass out. Skipper, Rico, and Private stared at him with blank looks.

"Uhh. . . Did either of you understand that?" Skipper asked. The others shook their heads.

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

A while later, the penguins returned to the zoo. In the lemur habitat, Julien was sitting upon his throne, enjoying the lovely weather.

"Ah, Maurice, the sky spirits must be very happy today. It's perfect out here!" His assistant, who was standing next to the throne and drinking a smoothie, nodded.

"Yep, it sure is."

"In fact, it's so perfect, nothing can possibly mess it up! Not even those silly peng-" Suddenly, Julien's throne collapsed and he landed on his back. Maurice and Mort, who was also nearby, gasped and rushed to his side.

"King Julien! Are you okay?" Maurice asked. The ring-tailed lemur got up and brushed himself off.

"Yes, I am fine." He noticed what happened. "AHH! MY THRONE!"

"Don't worry! We'll fix it! Come on, Mort!" Maurice and Mort rushed to another part of the habitat to get some glue. Julien tapped his chin.

"I sense some bad magicalness about this. . ." He turned and noticed the penguins walking by. "And it is coming from the smelly penguins. . ." He waved his arms to get their attention.

"Hey! Silly flightless birds!" Said flightless birds stopped and looked over at him.

"Hello, Julien!" Private waved at him. "What happened to your throne?"

"That is what I would like to know!" He shouted back. Skipper was about to reply that they were busy, but Kowalski, who had since recovered from earlier, stopped him.

"Skipper, maybe this might give us a clue as to all the strange things that have been happening recently." He whispered. The leader sighed.

"Ugh, fine." The penguins flipped into the lemur habitat and jumped up to the tallest platform where Julien was.

"What happened?" Kowalski asked.

"Well, I was just sitting on my royal throne, when it suddenly fell apart!" Julien yelled, raising his hands for emphasis. Kowalski whipped out his clipboard and wrote some notes down. Maurice and Mort returned with a bottle of glue and started repairing the throne.

"Maybe it was ready to collapse?" The lieutenant suggested. Maurice shook his head.

"No way; this thing was completely solid! All he was doing was talking about how nice it is out here!"

"No, Maurice! That is not all I was talking about! I was also saying that the fishy-smelling penguins couldn't possibly ruin it! Then, my royal throne became all brokeny!" The penguins looked at each other.

"Perhaps it was just a coincidence?" Kowalski said, although he himself sounded unconvinced.

"No, smarty penguin! You silly birds are reeking with the stench of bad luck!" Julien replied. "You have jinxed me!" Skipper rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Ringtail, you don't seriously believe that."

"Of course I do, bossy penguin! I sense it all around you! Now please leave before more bad luck befalls my kingdom!" At that moment, Mort accidentally spilled some glue on Julien's foot.

"Oops! I'll get it!" The small lemur placed his tiny hands on the glue, trying to wipe it off. Julien lifted his foot in annoyance.

"Mort! Get off the royal foot!" Unfortunately, the glue had already hardened, and Mort was stuck. Julien grabbed him and tried prying him off, but to no avail.

"AHH! See?! Your bad luck is already starting to contaminate my kingdom! Go away! How am I to be ruling with Mort stuck to my royal foot?!" Kowalski surveyed the mess.

"Don't worry. I can get some solvent from my lab and-"

"Ugh! Do not be doing anything else for me! Can't you see that you smelly penguins have done enough!?" Skipper crossed his flippers.

"Look, Ringtail, do you really want Sad Eyes to stay stuck to your foot?" The ring-tailed lemur looked at Mort, who smiled.

"Hi!" Julien facepalmed.

"Fine. Just be doing it as quickly as possible." He mumbled.

"I'll be right back!" Kowalski put his clipboard away, jumped off the platform, and hurried back to the penguins' habitat.

* * *

 **Great, now the bad luck is affecting anyone that comes near the penguins (or vice versa). :[ Okay, time for some notes! Kowalski is right about Jones Beach (I've gone there, too); it's really nice. :) The joke he mentioned came from a Firecracker popsicle stick (Rico: Kaboom?) Uh, no, Rico, it just looks like a firecracker; it doesn't really explode. (Rico: Aww. . .) ;) Anyway, Rico deciding not to hack up a drum set for Kowalski's lame joke was a loose reference to "Our Man in Gurfurjiclestan" when he set up a drum set for Skipper's car joke. Also, cumulonimbus clouds are huge, puffy-looking storm clouds. Alright, back to the current point in the story: Mort is stuck to Julien's foot. What sort of mishaps will happen when they try to fix the problem? Will the penguins figure out the cause of it all? :O Keep reading! :)**


	7. Glue Removal

**Okay, the next chapter is up! Sorry for posting it kind of late (at about 10:25 PM MST), but I had school today, so I was busy. ^^; Anyway, I got a review for one of my other stories (thank you, Penguins005!); I'm glad you liked it! :D Let's continue right where we left off. :)**

* * *

Kowalski reached their habitat and jumped over the fence, immediately noticing the sudden increase in temperature. He quickly went over to the fish hatch and kicked it open, burning his foot in the process. Ignoring the pain, he jumped down into the HQ and ran straight for his lab.

"Okay, let's see. . ." He opened a nearby cabinet and rummaged through it. "Aha!" The tall penguin pulled out a small tube of glue remover and rushed back outside.

Meanwhile, Julien was complaining to the others.

"Ugh, this is humiliating! Just look at Mort! He is so annoying!" He gestured to the mouse lemur, who giggled from the pure joy of being stuck to the king's foot.

"So? You could use a little humiliation from time to time." Skipper replied smugly. Just then, Kowalski rejoined the group, holding the glue thinner. Julien looked at him.

"Finally! Give me that!" He took the solvent and poured it all over his foot (and Mort). When the tube was empty, Julien threw it away and ripped Mort off his foot, tossing him aside as well. Julien wiggled his toes.

"Ah, that is much better." Kowalski rushed over to Mort, who was lying flat on his back a few inches away.

"What's wrong, Kowalski?" Private asked; the scientist looked panicked.

"This glue remover is really strong! It's not meant to be poured all over someone!" He replied before returning his attention to the small lemur lying before him.

"Mort, how are you feeling?" Kowalski asked nervously. Mort stared at him with his huge eyes.

"Okay."

"Do you feel any burning sensation anywhere?"

"Uhh. . ." Suddenly, a small sound could be heard, like something cooking. "YES! YES! IT BURNS!" Kowalski turned to the others.

"Rico! Gloves!" The scarred penguin obliged and Kowalski put them on. "We have to wash this off quickly!" He grabbed Mort and ran off, the other penguins following. Julien stared at his foot and started feeling a burning sensation as well.

"Hey! Wait for me!" He jumped off the platform and chased after them. Maurice sighed and trudged after the ring-tailed lemur.

"Where are you going, Kowalski?" Skipper asked as they ran along the pathway.

"Marlene's!" He replied. "Her pool is the closest source of water to wash the solvent off!" They reached her habitat wall, jumped onto it, and Kowalski chucked the small lemur into the pool. The water fizzed around him as the glue thinner diluted.

"Yay! I don't hurt anymore!" Mort cheered. The penguins gave each other high fives.

"Quick thinking, Kowalski." Skipper complimented.

"Thank you, sir." They looked back at Mort, who was starting to sink.

"I don't like drowning. . ." Kowalski jumped into the water and brought him back up. He climbed out of the pool, onto the grassy area of the habitat, and put Mort down. At that moment, Julien joined the other penguins on the wall.

"AHH! THE ROYAL FOOT IS BURNING WITH THE PAINFULNESS! WHAT SHALL I DO!?"

"Here, Ringtail. Wash it off." Skipper shoved Julien off the ledge and he landed in the water with a splash. He surfaced and glared at Skipper.

"How dare you be shoving the king?!" He yelled.

"Well, your foot isn't burning anymore, is it?" Skipper retorted. Julien thought about it.

"Oh, yeah. Good point."

Marlene walked out of her cave, having heard all the commotion outside. She saw Kowalski and Mort standing next to her pool, Julien floating in it, and the other penguins and Maurice standing on her habitat wall. They all looked at her.

"Umm. . . What's going on?" She inquired.

"Oh, nothing Marlene. Just a series of unfortunate events, mostly caused by Ringtail." Skipper replied, shrugging. Julien climbed up onto the concrete next to Marlene and pointed at him.

"I did not cause anything! You fishy penguins are the ones who have been causing the bad luck to stink up my kingdom!"

"Wait, bad luck?" Marlene asked disbelievingly. Julien turned to face her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Yes! I was just peacefully resting upon my throne when it fell to pieces! The penguins were walking by when it happened!" Marlene gently pushed him away.

"Oh, come on! I'm sure it wasn't them. Seriously, guys, this is all just-" For no reason, she slipped on a small puddle of water and fell into her pool. She quickly got back out and pointed at the water.

"Okay, now that was weird." Private, who was standing next to Skipper on the ledge, leaned closer to him.

"Skippah, do you think Julien's right about this bad luck thing?"

"Come on, Private! Don't tell me you're falling for Ringtail's nonsense."

"I'm not, Skippah, it's just that-"

"Not another word, young Private." The leader held up his flipper. "Come on, boys, let's go." He turned and jumped down from the wall. Private, Rico, and Kowalski followed. They headed back in the direction of their habitat.

"Kowalski, what's the status of our own personal heatwave?"

"No change, Skipper; it's just as hot as before." The leader rubbed his beak in thought.

"We're going to need a plan."

* * *

 **Okay! They managed to get around that issue with the glue and Mort getting stuck to Julien's foot and all that stuff. As for Marlene, I couldn't really think of anything terrible to happen to her that would still kind of fit the situation, so I just had her slip into her pool. ^^; So, what is their plan going to be? How much more of this nonsense will the penguins be able to take? Find out in the next chapter! :D**


	8. Discovering the Cause

**Hello, everybody! I received two reviews, so let me say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, ECTO-1 AND EUNICED-A (Guest)! :D Here are virtual sushi rolls with non-expired mayonnaise for both of you! [o] I've replied below:**

 **Ecto-1: Yeah, poor Mort! XD Don't worry, they will find out pretty soon! :) Thanks! :D I'm glad to hear that you love my stories (it makes me feel all warm and tingly inside)! X3**

 **EuniceD-A (Guest): Aww, thank you very much! :3 Yeah, it's sad that they don't make PoM episodes anymore. :C I really appreciate that you like my writing! :) Really? :O I certainly hope they do that (I hope it's better than Madagascar 3; it wasn't as good as the previous ones in the series, in my opinion). :/**

 **Okay! Let's see what happens next! :D**

* * *

A half hour later, the penguins were back in their HQ. They had borrowed an air conditioning unit from the zoo's storage shed, which was now sitting on their table blowing refreshingly cool air (Kowalski used his shrink ray on it so it could fit). Skipper was pacing back and forth, his flippers behind his back, Kowalski was standing in front of the side door, Private next to the bunks, and Rico in front of Private's fish plaque. Skipper stopped pacing and turned to face them.

"Alright, boys, we need to figure out what's going on. Now, what mishaps have happened so far?" Kowalski pulled out his clipboard so he could make a list.

"Alice tripping over her shoelaces." Private began.

"My invention exploding," Kowalski said.

"The snow cone incident." Private added.

"'Eatwave," Rico grunted.

"Getting struck by lightning," Kowalski noted.

"Julien's throne collapsing and Mort getting glued to his foot." Private chimed in. Rico crossed his flippers.

"'Ey, no fair! You said two things!" Private glanced at him.

"Oh. Sorry, Rico." The mohawked penguin huffed and tried to think of another event.

"Ooh, Marlene." He grunted, referring to when she slipped and fell into her pool.

"The card game." Skipper muttered. Kowalski and Rico, who hadn't heard the conversation the previous night, stared at him with confused looks.

"Uhh. . . Yeah. Well, there was also the air conditioner failing." Kowalski said after a moment of silence.

"Anything else?" Skipper asked. Private raised his flipper.

"What about 'The Lunacorns' getting canceled?"

"That doesn't count, Private. In fact, that was the only good thing that happened so far." Private sulked adorably at the leader's anti-lunacorn remark. Rico frowned as he thought of something. He grumbled in gibberish and pointed to his doll, which was sitting in the corner of the room by the TV and facing away from him.

"Miss Perky broke up with you?" Private translated, looking at him.

"Uh-huh," Rico replied, nodding sadly.

There was an awkward silence as Skipper, Kowalski, and Private exchanged glances. Rico's doll didn't even have a voice chip anymore! How and when could that have happened?! Skipper looked at Rico, who was now rocking back and forth with his flippers wrapped around his feet.

". . . Okay." He said awkwardly. "I guess that's all we can think of right now. Kowalski, what could be causing all this?" The tall penguin tapped his beak with the pencil he was holding as he thought.

"Well, besides the solar flare idea for the TV incident, I can't think of any reasonable answers."

"Give me some unreasonable answers, then." Skipper responded. Before Kowalski could say anything, Private spoke up.

"What about the bad luck that Julien mentioned?" Kowalski scoffed.

"Come on, Private. There's no such thing as luck or any other form of magic for that matter."

"But what about the fount-" Private stopped mid-sentence.

"What was that?" Skipper asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Private blinked; he almost forgot that he had unwished the whole incident, so his teammates didn't remember anything. The young penguin stared at the floor and traced an invisible circle with his foot.

"Uhh. . . Nothing, Skippah." He replied. Skipper crossed his flippers, but didn't push him. He looked back at his second-in-command.

"Okay, for the sake of argument, let's just go with that for now, but I still think Ringtail's wrong. Kowalski, give me intel on bad luck." Kowalski frowned and scribbled something on his clipboard.

"Hmm. . . Well, according to those who actually believe in bad luck, it could be caused by doing something unlucky, such as breaking mirrors, spilling salt, stepping on cracks, etc."

"We haven't done any of that, right, boys?" Private and Rico shook their heads. Kowalski continued.

"It could also be caused by an object, such as a charm." Private froze. Could that be what was causing everything? Skipper noticed his shocked expression and squinted at him.

"Private? Why are you staring like that?" The young penguin reached up to his pillow, trying to look casual but failing miserably.

"N-Nothing, Skippah!" He stammered, giving him a nervous smile.

Private accidentally nudged the pillow, causing the charm to slip out of his bunk and land on the floor. He panicked and reached down to grab it. However, the charm was scalding hot, and it burned him as soon as he touched it. He yelped and held his injured flipper, shaking it slightly. Private took a step back and gazed at the charm in fright: The crystal was now a glowing deep red.

"Where did you get that, Private?" Skipper inquired sternly, pointing at it.

"I-I-I got it from the laboratory!" Kowalski waddled over to the charm, bent down, and hovered his flipper above it. He didn't sense any heat radiating from it, so he picked it up; it felt cool in his flipper. Kowalski went back over to where he had been standing before and examined it. To him, the crystal was blue.

"Kowalski, analysis." The scientist put his clipboard down and held the charm with both flippers.

"It appears to be a regular charm, like those seen on charm bracelets."

"Nothing else?" Skipper asked suspiciously; he could clearly see the crystal was deep red. Kowalski looked at him and shook his head.

"No. . ." He replied, confused.

"What? You don't notice the crystal is red?" Private asked incredulously.

"No, it's blue." The lieutenant answered. Private looked at Rico.

"Rico, you see a red crystal, right?"

"Uh-huh." He mumbled. The young penguin stared at Kowalski, puzzled. Why didn't he see it as red? Obviously, Skipper and Rico did. The leader placed his flippers on his hips.

"Well, I think we have our answer: That charm is cursed." He announced. Kowalski's beak dropped.

"Skipper, that's ridiculous!" He gestured to the charm. "There is no such thing as bad-" Suddenly, the side door unhinged itself and crushed him, leaving only his flippers and the charm sticking out; Skipper had stepped out of the way just in time.

"What caused that to happen, then?" Private questioned. The lieutenant just moaned in response. The others went over, lifted the metal door off him, and propped it against the wall next to the doorway. Kowalski slowly got up and stumbled slightly as he regained his balance.

"Okay. . . Maybe it is because of bad luck." He relented, dazed. His eyes widened in shock as he studied the charm again.

"Hey, the charm is red! I could've sworn it was blue before. . ." Skipper sighed and face-flippered.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but let's go ask Ringtail about this."

* * *

 **Yes, folks, you read right: The penguins FINALLY know what's causing all of this misfortune (it certainly took them long enough)! XD As for references, the episode where Miss Perky had a voice chip was "Hello, Dollface" and the fountain I was referring to was the magical fountain from "Wishful Thinking". Also, for the part where Private is sulking, I was picturing the cute sad face he made in "Brush With Danger!" when Kowalski got annoyed at him for interrupting his presentation on the possibility of a villain visiting the museum and seeing his blueprints. XD By the way, although everyone now sees that the charm's crystal is red, Private is the only one that can't touch it since he was the one that took it in the first place (I totally just made that up for the story). :) Okay! So, they're going to talk to Julien, but we already know that the ring-tailed lemur wants them to stay as far away from him as possible. What will happen? :O**


	9. Returning the Charm

**Hooray! The next chapter is here! Thank you, adamf3625 for sending a review (or two, or three). ;) I'm happy to hear that you like the story so far! Here's your virtual sushi roll with non-expired mayo! [o] Okay, let's see how things unfold! :)**

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In the lemur habitat, Julien was impatiently waiting for Maurice to finish repairing his throne. He crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Maurice! Hurry up!" The aye-aye was currently balancing on a pile of fruit while leaning toward the throne with a piece of wood in his hand.

"I'm almost done, Your Majesty. Just this last piece and-" As soon as Maurice put the final piece in place, the entire thing collapsed again. He also lost his balance and crashed onto the platform. Julien stomped his foot irritably.

"Ugh, Maurice! You messed it up again!" He turned around to see the penguins standing there and jumped. "AHHH! Never mind, Maurice, I found the problem." Skipper scowled at him.

"Look, Ringtail, we need your help. Private found a charm that we think is cursed." He showed him the object in question. Julien took one glance at it and freaked out.

"AHH! Get that away from me!" He stumbled back and tripped over Maurice, who was still lying on the platform. He fell and raised his hands in defense, cowering behind the aye-aye. Skipper groaned in annoyance.

"I knew this was a bad idea. . ." He muttered to himself. Private looked at Skipper apologetically.

"Julien, can you please tell us how to get rid of the curse?" He asked.

"If I do, will you leave?"

"Yes," Private said, nodding.

"Okay, fine." Julien stood up and brushed himself off. Maurice also got on his feet and stared at the charm; although he looked nervous, he didn't freak out like Julien did.

"The easiest way to lift the curse is to put the thing back where you got it from." The ring-tailed lemur explained.

"That sounds simple enough." Skipper said, placing his flippers on his hips. Julien nodded.

"Either that or destroy it. Those are your only options. You need to get rid of it as soon as possible; the curse will only get worse until you do."

"That's all we need to know. Come on, men." Skipper slid off the platform and flipped over the habitat wall, the other penguins following. After they left, Mort randomly appeared. He walked right up to Julien and hugged his feet.

"Mort, why are you clinging to the royal feet?"

"Because it's part of the bad luck coming from the penguins!" Mort replied happily, snuggling him. The ring-tailed lemur nodded in understanding.

"Oh, yes, I see-" He suddenly realized what Mort was doing. "GET OFF THE FEET!" He kicked him as hard as he could and the tiny mouse lemur soared over the habitat wall. Meanwhile, the penguins were walking along the path, figuring out their next move.

"Okay, so all we have to do is bring this back to the lab and everything will go back to normal." Skipper said. Just then, a faint noise was heard - it sounded like someone was screaming.

"Skippah, do you hear that?" Private questioned. The leader turned around and was met with Mort plowing into him.

The two of them tumbled head over heels along the pathway. During the impact, Skipper lost his grip on the charm. It skidded and fell into a nearby sewer grate. The two animals eventually came to a stop and Skipper twisted to look at where the charm had gone. He slammed his flipper on the pavement in frustration.

"Ugh!" He glared at Mort, who was now lying on his tummy. "Sad Eyes, what are you doing!?"

"Julien kicked me for touching the feet." The mouse lemur explained. Skipper face-flippered.

"Private, take Sad Eyes and send him back." The young penguin picked Mort up and did as Skipper asked. The leader stood up, crossed his flippers, and stared at the sewer grate.

"That's just great." He muttered. Kowalski snickered.

"Get it? Grate? As in 'sewer grate'?" He stopped laughing when Skipper glared at him.

"This is no time for puns, Kowalski. We have to go in there and retrieve that charm, pronto!"

Once Private returned, the penguins went over to the grate and Rico hacked up a crowbar to lift it. They slipped inside and landed on the concrete platform that ran along the sides of the tunnel. Unfortunately, the charm was nowhere to be seen.

"The charm must've landed in the water." Kowalski guessed. Skipper sighed.

"Well, we're going to have to fish it out, then. Rico, fishing line." The weapons expert regurgitated the item, tossed the hook into the water, and dragged it around. Eventually, he reeled the line back in, revealing the charm, which was now attached to the hook.

"Good job, Rico," Skipper praised. "Now let's get rid of this charm once and for all." Rico handed the charm to Skipper and swallowed the fishing pole.

The penguins exited the sewer and went straight to their garage. Once they were in their car, they made the drive to the top-secret facility. Rico parked the car in the same spot as before and they jumped out.

"Alright, boys, we'll go in the same way we did last time. Come on." They slid over to the air vent and got in without any trouble. Skipper was in front, followed by Private, Rico, and Kowalski. As they climbed through the maze of shafts, they heard a small, whirring sound.

"Kowalski, what's that noise?"

"I believe it's the building's air conditioning system turning on." He answered, his face filled with concern.

Suddenly, the penguins were starting to slide back from the wind. They tried to continue, but the system was now in full blast, and they were blown off their feet. The penguins flew back, screaming the whole way. Kowalski noticed something in the distance. Behind them, the shaft ended with a large ventilation fan. He quickly reached out and grabbed the corner of an adjacent tunnel. Rico also saw the huge fan and gripped onto the opposite corner from Kowalski. Private just managed to grab Kowalski's foot as he flew past. Finally, Skipper did the same with Rico, only with one flipper, since he was holding onto the charm.

"Kowalski, options!"

"Hang on for dear life!"

"Well, obviously!" Private yelled. He glanced at Skipper, who was starting to lose his grip.

"Skippah! The charm! Let go of it!" The leader looked at it and did.

The charm flew into the fan and out of the grate behind it. The air shaft happened to lead into the laboratory from before, and the charm fell into the same nook Private had found it in. Instantly, the wind died down and the air conditioning system shut off. The penguins sighed in relief and stood up.

"Phew! That was close." Skipper said. "Excellent job, young Private. How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't. I just figured that getting rid of it would stop everything." The small penguin smiled.

"Well, it looks like everything will go back to normal, then."

"Uh-huh!" Rico mumbled happily. Kowalski tapped his beak, thinking.

"So, if the charm was causing everything, then my calculations were correct and my invention should've worked!" He pumped his flipper. "YES! TAKE THAT, SKIPPER!" The penguin then did an awkward victory dance, which made Rico slightly nauseous. Finally, he stopped.

"I believe you owe me an apology. . ." Kowalski said, looking at Skipper and grinning shrewdly. Skipper rolled his eyes and crossed his flippers.

"Fine." There was silence. Kowalski frowned.

"Well?"

"What? I owe you an apology, which means I'll give it to you at a later date." He walked past Kowalski and headed back in the direction they parked their car, Rico and Private following. The tall penguin stared after him, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, come on! At least let me invent stuff again!"

"Okay, Kowalski, your punishment is revoked." Skipper replied, continuing down the air vent. Kowalski beamed.

"Thank you, Skipper! WOO-HOO!" He raised his flippers in excitement. However, since he was tall, he banged them on the ceiling of the shaft.

"Ow!"

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 **Well, they finally got rid of the charm! :D The next chapter is the last one (it's a nice little epilogue to neatly wrap things up). :)**


	10. Epilogue

**Hey, everybody! Happy October to you all and thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed throughout the course of this fanfiction! :) Here is the epilogue to the story (I know it's short, but it is an epilogue, after all). ;)**

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The penguins went back to their HQ. Since they returned the charm to its rightful place, the heatwave, along with all the other misfortunes, were gone. They put the air conditioning unit they borrowed back in the storage shed and were now enjoying some much-needed relaxation time. Kowalski was in his lab working on yet another invention, Rico was hugging Miss Perky, and Private and Skipper were sitting at the table.

"Well, Private, I hope you learned your lesson." Skipper said, drinking some fish coffee. Private nodded.

"Yes, Skippah. I'll never bring back any charms ever again." The leader smiled.

"Good," He glanced at the clock. "Hmm. . . It's almost time for 'The Lunacorns' to come-" Private rushed over to the TV and changed the channel before he could finish the sentence. Skipper rolled his eyes and shook his head before taking another sip of coffee.

Meanwhile, in the lemur habitat, Mort skipped happily to the far corner of the grassy area. He hid behind some bushes and opened his hands to reveal a small charm. He found it in the lost-and-found box in Alice's office after Private returned him home. It was shaped like a foot and encrusted with clear jewels. Mort loved it so much; it reminded him of Julien's feet.

"I'm going to call you. . . FEET. . ." He murmured, hugging the cool metal charm. The mouse lemur tucked it behind a couple of palm trees and went to annoy Julien.

And the charm flashed red.

 _ **The End**_

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 **Well, there you have it: Another completed PoM story from me, sbartist357! :) I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Please favorite and/or review if you did! :D No matter how old the story gets, I always look at my feedback! :) See you next time, and remember, don't pick up any seemingly-innocent charms from top-secret laboratories, people! ;)**


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